Tuesday, 17 January 2017

Tory MP David Davies probably thinks we should be an Annexe of England

The BBC Wales webpage carries what looks like a Toty press release which expresses faux-concern that the Welsh Government has defended spending more than £84,000 on the Brexit case at the Supreme Court.

Ministers intervened over whether the Article 50 process to leave the EU can be triggered without MPs' approval.

The Welsh Conservatives have found just over £79,000 was spent on legal fees, plus travel and accommodation costs.

Monmouth Tory MP David Davies called it a waste of money, but the Welsh Government said it would not apologise for protecting Wales' interests.

£4,162.20 was spent on travel, subsistence and accommodation for the counsel general Mick Antoniw and three Welsh Government lawyers

£800 was spent on the application to intervene

£327.80 was spent on a meeting room at the Supreme Court

Monmouth Conservative MP David Davies said:

"What an absolute waste of taxpayers' cash, and all to pay for Mick Antoniw's tortuous bid to block Brexit."Ultimately, the weakness of the Welsh Government's case exposed this venture for what it was - a peacocking exercise, motivated by a combination of ego and an unwillingness to abide by the democratic process."It might not seem like a grand sum in the context of the Welsh Government's overall budget, but that kind of money could have paid for four full time Welsh NHS nurses which would have been a much better use of taxpayers' money."

Yes its not a great sum and given the cost of legal representation, we might wonder of the Welsh Government has actually got as full a representation as we deserved.

The Welsh Government has denied that the case was a bid to block Brexit.

A spokesman said:

"We do not apologise for intervening in what is one of the most significant constitutional legal cases in the UK's history."We did so to protect the interests of Wales and its devolved institutions."The people of the UK voted to leave the European Union, and we respect that decision."While Brexit will happen, the UK government cannot trigger it by overriding the British constitution."They need to act within the law."In the Supreme Court, we argued the process of leaving the EU must be carried out within the law, which includes respecting and adhering to the constitutional arrangements of the United Kingdom and the legal framework for devolution."

I wonder what critics outside the Tory Party would have said if Wales was not represented in this legal case that will affect the way the UK Government can bypass the Westminster parliament and cut debate,David Davies is one of those MPs who wishes the Welsh Assembly was not there and the only opinion coming out of Wales is that pf servile acceptance.Having said that i must admit he's maybe right, when he described the process by which a construction firm from Catalonia was awarded the contract to build the Circuit of Wales racetrack h as “absolutely outrageous and unacceptable”.I think we can't really complain that the Heads of the Valleys Development Company (HOVDC), the firm taking the Circuit of Wales project forward, has a contract to stage the British event of the annual MotoGP motorcycle championship. That contract was awarded by Dorna, the Catalan company which owns MotoGP. after all any part of theUK would have to accept such a contract to stage such an event.But at the same time as Dorna announced it had awarded the MotoGP event to HOVDC, HOVDC said the contract to build the Circuit of Wales had been awarded to another Catalan company called Fomento de Construcciones y Contratas SA (FCC).

David Davies said:

“It is absolutely outrageous and unacceptable that the Circuit of Wales are looking for more than £200m in financial guarantees from taxpayers when there is no transparency about the selection process which resulted in the building contract being awarded to a Spanish construction company.“How can we be sure that, if the project does go ahead, it will do so on the basis of best value?“I am looking forward to a report from the Auditor General for Wales on the project, which is due to be published in February."

As I said he may be right but as he spouts his second act of righteous Indignation in a day he might well reflect . Why a "Catalan" company actually exist that can bid for these contracts?

Could it be due to the autonomy that Catalonia has and it is able to compete at a level that Wales can only dream about?

Davis Davies outrage would probably not exist if it was a company from the South West of England.

He regards Wales as little more that an Annex of England and we should accept the ruling of our Masters and Mistresses in London

1 comment:

I wonder how much the UK government has spent on its pointless appeal to the Supreme Court? Most expect them to fail to over turn the lower court judgement so surely if anyone is wasting money its the UK government.